1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
I worked with Despina, George and Claire and we all contributed to the exercise and suggested ideas. We studied the brief and then got on to deciding important steps such as roles and location. When making a film, the roles normally taken on are sound technician, camera operateur, actor, light technician and runner so we decided to follow most of these roles to make the shoot more professional and organised. During our first meeting, after coming up with an idea, we decided that Despina and Claire would be the main actors within the piece and George would also act at the end of the sequence. This left me to do the shooting however, we decided that George should shoot some of the shots that he was not featured in to share out responsibility. George and I also took the role of sound technician. When it came to editing, Despina and George did most of the editing as they seemed to have the most knowledge when it came to editing the final piece however, both Claire and I both contributed ideas and looked out to try and ensure that there were no continuity errors and put in suggestions. Overall, I enjoyed working with my group and I think that we all contributed a lot and worked together well and I think doing this exercise as a group, we got to learn a lot about group skills and how to handle stressful situations productively. Also, we were all very reliable and showed good time keeping skills.
2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
We had a initial meeting to get started and to plan our sequence which was very useful because we all got to share ideas and plan what exactly we were going to do. In this meeting, we brainstormed ideas and then planned the script, sorted the shot list and then started on the storyboard for shots, including duration and the denotation of each shot. We also made sure that we had a shooting schedule to ensure that we were all organised and knew exactly what was happening. Once we decided our location in this initial meeting, we went into the room and had a brief run through taking into account important things such as where the camera will be positioned and how we wanted the overall sequence to appear. We also analysed the lighting within the location and what the acoustics were like and once we were happy with this, we organised another meeting during a lunchtime. At this second meeting, we finalised all of the details and completed all of the storyboard. With the planning of the storyboard, we needed to make sure that we stuck to the brief so we needed to have one character walk in and sit opposite another character and then the two needed to exchange a few seconds of dialogue. The techniques that we needed to make sure that we took into account were important continuity rules such as the 180 degree rule, 30 degree rule, match on action, shot-reverse shot and a matched cut when editing. Also, in terms of character types, we have used normal and everyday characters and have included a love interest which they both fancy.
3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
Before we actually started the task, the school technician showed us the technology that we will be using and told us how to use the pieces of equipment which was very helpful and prevented questions being asked during the actual shoot which would waste time.
The hardware which were involved in the shoot, included a Cannon HDV Camera with a mini DV tape format with a camera mic attached and this allowed us to shoot the footage professionally with good sound throughout. We also used a tripod to keep the camera still and to create smooth pans with the rotating lever. The tripod legs were also very useful as we could extend and reduce them to show different perspectives for example with the girls point of view when sitting down, the reduction of the legs provided a more realistic view of the other character. We also had headphones which we connected to the camera which was very helpful in ensuring that the sound was loud enough without any background noise reducing the quality. Other equipment included a clipboard to keep our storyboard and notes on and also a mini whiteboard which was very helpful in writing the shot and take to show us when editing visually what number each shot was.
The software that we used was a PC based digital editing suite and the main programme we used was Adobe Premier Pro which was an easy software to follow. This software had a large supply of tools which were very helpful in creating the final piece. The main tools we used included the razor which we used cut up each clip to separate both the shot and the audio, the drag icon to drop clips into the timeline to pick out the footage we wanted and the transitions to go in between each shot. In this project, we used cuts for a quick effect. The programme also had a source and output monitor to show us the footage we wanted to pick out and then finally, the clip after it has been edited. Also, we could include titles through the software to introduce our sequence and then to provide an ending title. Adobe Premier Pro, made the editing of our prelim project very easy to do and it was a very helpful and effective programme.
4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
When planning, there were very important factors that we needed to take into consideration. A big factor was the roles within the exercise as we wanted to pick actors that felt confident enough to play the part convincingly. Also, we needed to plan out where we would do the shoot and this was very important as we needed a location that was appropriate for the scene and we needed to ensure that everything was in place to create a good sense of place. Another factor was that we had a strong enough script that would be easy to follow and one that allowed the two actors to have a conversation.
With the shooting however, a big factor to keep an eye on was the lighting was okay for the shot and was not either too bright or not bright enough. Also, we had to check on the sound because it was important that we could hear the actors clearly and that there were no sounds from the other groups nearby that would interrupt things. Continuity was the most important factor when shooting as we had to ensure that no rules were broken and that everything flowed well. Making sure that we wrote down each shot and take was also vital so that we could sort out the shot order and record what take was the best.
When it came to editing, we took into account time management as we only had a certain amount of time to complete the editing and also, the order in which we would place the shots. Another thing we had to decide was where to cut certain shots along with what transitions would be most effective.
5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what you would improve/ do differently.
Overall, the sequence was not as successful as I would have hoped as there are a few weak points however, there are also some effective shots to the sequence. We stuck to the continuity rules which I think is very positive as we tried very hard to ensure that there were not any errors so this part of the sequence was successful. The things that I think worked well, was firstly, the first shot of the actor walking in as it is a clean shot without any mistakes and it is a shot that was required in this sequence. Also, the second shot of the pan as Claire walks into the room, works quite well as it acts as a good establishing shot in revealing the setting. Finally, the reaction shot and the points of view of Claire at 0.12 is well framed and 0.20 is quite effective also because it is framed well and shows the facial expression of the characters.
In hindsight however, I would re-do the shot at 0.23 as the framing is very weak because there is too much space at the top of the shot. The reason I think this framing was quite bad was because I was shooting this shot in the corner of the room and there was not enough space to do an effective pan. So, if I was to change something, I would consider thinking more carefully about location. Also, I think that the conversation between the girls is too quick and this makes it seem quite unrealistic so I would probably change the script and have more pauses where the girls look at the laptop, gazing at the pictures on it. At 0.13, there is too much space along the side so I would have framed this tighter if I had the chance to do it again. Another thing I would change would be by making the sequence simpler as we added three people when really, we only needed two so I think that we should have made it less complicated.
6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?
I have learnt a lot from doing this task and I think has helped increase my knowledge of filming and editing. The main things that I have learnt are firstly, the scripting of directing which includes getting everyone on shoot to keep quiet ('standby') and how the director decides when to say action and informs the camera operator when to cut and stop recording. I also learnt about all of the roles that are involved within the filming and how they all come together to cover every aspect of shooting. One of the most important things that I learn were the continuity techniques in particular with the 180 degree rule as it can ruin a sequence and make it seem unreal and fake. I also learnt about how important checking the audio is because background noise or the actor not being loud enough can be a big problem. Also, storyboarding is extremely important and making sure that there is an establishing shot within the storyboard to make sure firstly, we know what we are doing and secondly with the establishing shot, a sense of place is shown to the audience. A big lesson that I have learn is about how to handle stressful situations as it was quite stressful so I think that next time, I will try and stay calm and focus on my role more.
I think that this exercise will help me with my foundation coursework because now. I have experienced what it is like and I have been able to pinpoint where exactly it is that I went wrong and can make sure that I do not repeat these mistakes again.
Group 3C PaperworkStoryboard, Shooting Schedule and Script
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